Dementia Care Best Practices
People living with dementia have complex care needs, long periods of disability, and heavy reliance on the support of their family and other caregivers. Clinicians can improve the quality of life for people with dementia and their caregivers through implementation of evidence-based practices that provide meaningful help and support.
Use this toolkit to make the case for improving dementia care, implement quality improvement, and train clinicians from all disciplines to better support people living with dementia and their caregivers. For comprehensive clinical training, visit CAPC's online CE curriculum, Best Practices in Dementia Care and Caregiver Support.
What’s in the Toolkit
The Case for Improving Dementia Care
Improving the quality of dementia care can alleviate suffering for people living with dementia and their caregivers, improve key quality metrics, and reduce health care spending.
Brief monograph outlining key statistics and the case for improving dementia care and caregiver support. Center to Advance Palliative Care, 2019.
Infographic with key statistics demonstrating the value of improving dementia care in the U.S.
Getting Started
Comprehensive guide with practical steps in implementing best practices in dementia care and caregiver support.
A comprehensive guide to improving identification, assessment, and support of people living with dementia, and their caregivers. Center to Advance Palliative Care, 2019.
Clinical Tools and Training for Best Practices in Dementia Care
Online CE courses, clinical assessment tools, and resources for identifying and making referrals to community-based services that support patients and families.
This learning pathway, Best Practices in Dementia Care Designation, provides comprehensive continuing education on practical strategies to support patients living with dementia, and their families.
Recommended validated cognitive assessment tools.
Recommended validated assessment tools for common comorbid conditions.
Validated tools for assessing caregiver health and well-being.
Community-based resource locators and support services.
Print or email this handout of caregiver resources for education and support.
Fill out this worksheet with contact information for community-based services in your area, and supply to clinical staff or patients and families.
This on-demand webinar discusses successfully collaborating to support people living with dementia and their caregivers.
This on-demand webinar, Bringing Comfort to People with Advanced Dementia, discusses how we can eliminate distress in patients with advanced Dementia.
Tool to assess pain in cognitively impaired patients.
Guidance from the Alzheimer's Association on utilizing CPT code 99483.
Cognitive Impairment care planning toolkit for clinicians
Case Studies
Case studies of evidence-based care models that support people living with dementia, their families, and other caregivers.
An interdisciplinary collaborative care model for people living with dementia.
A cost-effective model for home-based case management and caregiver support.
A model for evidence-based caregiver support and education.
A model for comprehensive care management in the home.
An evidence-based caregiver intervention adapted for an integrated health care system.
Health Affairs Blog profile of UCLA Health's approach to dementia care. May 2019.
